The Letter
by TheChosenOne3
Summary: Ned's gone and the whole treehouse misses him. So someone takes maters into her own hands.


The Letter by: TheChosenOne  
  
Dear Ned,  
  
I wish you could see exactly what your departure has done to our little family. It is not as strong as it once was, and yet it is ten times stronger. We have all lost too much to this place not to be brought closer together and pushed further apart by another loss. First we lost Summerlee, then you, then Veronica, then you again, then Veronica again. Fortunately Veronica came back to us since you left. But, Ned, everything has changed. She needs you now more than ever. I wish that you could watch her as she sits on the balcony staring out over the plateau just looking for any sign that you are coming home and returning to her. I wish you could hear her tossing and turning in her room at night, calling out your name in her sleep. I know you two agreed to be friends, but I also know that you both regret that decision.  
  
I'll bet that I was the last person you expected to write something like this to you. I know that out of all of the members of this little expedition of ours, I did the most to make life on the plateau a lot harder than it had to be, especially on you. I hope you can forgive me for that. You were the only one who rarely did anything in retaliation to my remarks and I suppose I took advantage of your kind nature. I don't apologize easily, but if you make it back to us I will fall on my knees and beg your forgiveness. You are the little brother I never had, but always wanted and I hope that where ever you are you know that.  
  
The women of this treehouse are not the only ones who miss you. I can see a change in both Roxton and Challenger. They both miss you. Challenger no longer has anyone who actually seems even vaguely interested in his theories and inventions. You were the one who always asked questions and surprised him with your knowledge of some of the scientific experiments. Thanks to your departure, he has recruited me as his new lab assistant. There's another reason why I hope you come back soon.  
  
Roxton has felt your absence as well. I think he feels as though he lost his brother all over again. He has confided in me that you are a bit insecure with yourself. I asked him if he was worried about you and he just looked me straight in the eye and said, "No. Malone is a lot stronger than he gives himself credit for. But it isn't his strength that'll help him out there. It is his good nature that will save him from unnecessary confrontations and it is his natural curiosity and suspicion that will keep him from getting into situations that he doesn't want to be in. He will come back to us because he will realize that everything he is looking for, he left behind." I hope that he is right Malone. We all miss you. We worry about you, but no more or less than we worry about anyone of us when we leave the safety of the treehouse.  
  
The thing I miss most about you is coffee. You got me hooked on the stuff and now every morning I have my usual cup I can't help but think of you. I miss our morning chats over our cups of coffee. Laughing and talking as if drinking coffee made us part of an exclusive club and I think, that at least to us, it did. I am not very good at explaining my feelings to people but here it goes. You are a very valuable part of this expedition, no matter what I have said or done to convince you otherwise. You are the one who always kept our hopes up, no matter how grave the situation. Your stories kept us entertained when we were bored. And no matter what I did to you or said about you, you never held it against me. You have always seen that there was more to me than I let you see and I will never be able to thank you enough for your support and confidence.  
  
I know you can take care of yourself, but that hasn't stopped any of us from worrying about you. We miss you but we all understand why you had to leave. And we all are anxiously awaiting your return. You need to come back to us, but especially to Veronica. We have told her of your dedication while she was lost in the balloon. She knows how much you care about her. But she misses you and I know you miss her. She is proud of you you know, we all are. If you don't come back for the family at least come back for Veronica.  
  
I don't know what possessed me to write this to you. I know that even when you do get back I will never show this to you or anyone else for that matter. So I have decided to let the wind carry this message to you. And I know that even if you don't get this, you know how much we all miss you because you miss all of us too. Come home soon Neddy-boy.  
  
Sincerely, Marguerite Krux  
  
Marguerite stood on the balcony of the treehouse. Her companions were already in bed. She had written Malone a letter. For some reason the whole treehouse seemed to be feeling particularly melancholy that day. Veronica read his journals over and over. Challenger was working on making paper for Ned, he claimed that he would need more for his journals when he came back. Roxton was out hunting, but she knew that he was also searching for any sign that Malone was in the area. Finn even seemed less energetic than usual. She quietly sat in the kitchen and worked on her reading. Marguerite sat with her, mended clothes, and helped that young blonde woman with the words she didn't know. She thought about writing to Malone about Finn, but what was the point he was never going to read it anyway.  
  
She looked out over the plateau, just as she had witnessed Veronica doing every night since she had been back. She looked down at the letter in her hand. A strong breeze caught her hair and she let the letter go and watched it float on the air and out of her sight.  
  
The wind took the letter miles across the plateau before finally landing near a campfire somewhere on the east plateau. A man who was sitting there watching the flames and listening to the jungle around him saw the piece of paper glide to the ground in front of him. He picked it up and read over it, the handwriting seemed very familiar. He read over it twice and found by the end of his second reading there were tears in his eyes  
  
"Thank you Marguerite. I miss you guys too. I am coming home to you all, especially you Veronica." Malone folded the letter and put it in his pocket and went to sleep. 


End file.
